Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 NOV. 29, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I t's hard to believe that only about two months ago much of ND Nation had already made up their minds on Chris Ash, just three games into the season, and they were ready to send the first-year Irish defen- sive coordinator packing shortly after he got unpacked. Even head coach Marcus Free- man wore his frustration on his sleeve over Ash's defense after Notre Dame started 0-2 and gave up 98 points in its first three games, including 30 to Purdue — the most points for the Boilers in this in-state series since 2007. "We're going to [improve] this and get our guys better and believe in what we're doing, or we'll separate," was the stern message Freeman delivered to his staff after his defense gave up the second-most points through three games in program history. The narrative became so toxic, even former Irish team captain Mike Goolsby pulled no punches on social media dur- ing the early season defensive struggles, posting unflattering messages such as "Terrible defense. No fundamentals. It's nothing" and "Ash is terrible." Whether it was Freeman's fiery mes- sage to his staff, or more urgency from his players, or a growing familiarity with a first-year coach, or some of all of the above, something flipped defensively for the Irish before the Arkansas game Week 4, big time. The Razorbacks entered the game against Notre Dame Sept. 27 averag- ing 43.5 points and 552.0 yards a game, a recipe for an upset with the way the Irish were playing defensively. Instead, Notre Dame held Arkansas to a season-low 13 points, kept it 187 yards below its per-game offensive average, pitched a shutout in the second half, won the game by 43 points, and put the rough defensive start behind it. The Razorback roasting marked the first of four games in which the Irish defense didn't allow a point in the sec- ond half, and the first of six consecutive games in which Notre Dame didn't al- low a point in the fourth quarter. Remarkably, after allowing 23 total points in the fourth quarter during its first three forgettable games, the Irish defense gave up only 6 total points in the fourth quarter of its next seven games, and those points came on a last-second garbage touchdown by Pittsburgh in a 37-15 Notre Dame rout. "It all takes time," said Ash, who's or- chestrated one of the greatest in-season coaching turnarounds in program his- tory. "We talk all the time. We're in a race against time. We want to be great." What a perfect time to be great and at peak performance with so much still to play for. The challenge now is to keep the troops grounded and in the moment with national title hopes still in play. "Every test, as we continue to move forward will be tougher, every one," Freeman said during the week of prepa- ration for the Syracuse game. "It's not always the record of the opponent, but it's also the added human element of the outside noise of playoffs. "That's why I say each test as we go forward is a greater challenge, because you add that into the mix." One of the main concerns when Ash was hired — and one that looked merited to start this season — was that he hadn't worked in the college ranks for five years. But after a rocky start, Ash squashed those worries and now has his defense playing as well as any in the country. A n d t h e Co l l e ge Fo o tba l l Playoff Management Commit- tee took notice when it slotted Notre Dame No. 10 in its initial top-25 poll Nov. 4. Previous CFP committee chair Mack Rhoades — who left his post Nov. 12, citing personal reasons — ex- plained that the work and the improvement of the Irish de- fense were among the primary reasons Notre Dame was ranked as the top two-loss team in the poll. "Early on defensively, maybe [the Irish] weren't as good as what we thought they would be," Rhoades ex- plained. "But most recently, it seems like they've been much, much better defensively." Indeed. During Notre Dame's seven straight wins from Arkansas in Game 4 to Pitt in Game 10, only Southern Cal Oct. 18 scored more than one offensive touch- down against the Irish defense. Freeman is doing his best to keep the playoff noise out of the heads of his players and sticking to his message that even with an overmatched Stan- ford team the last hurdle left this regular season, this is no time to let down. "We have to have a high standard," Freeman said. "It's got to be very clear to our players what we're looking at and looking for, and you have to hold 'em accountable to that standard." And given the improvement the Irish defense has demonstrated under Ash, it's rightfully a very high standard that Coach Freeman is looking at and look- ing for heading into the postseason. ✦ After a rocky three-game start, coordinator Chris Ash's unit allowed more than one offensive touchdown in only one of the next seven contests. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com. UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE If Defense Wins Championships, Watch Out For The Irish